Blair Wilson | |
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| Member of Parliament forWest Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country | |
| In office January 23, 2006 – October 14, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | John Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | John Weston |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1963-05-18)May 18, 1963 (age 62) North Vancouver,British Columbia, Canada |
| Political party | Green (since 2008)[1] |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal (2006–2007) Liberal without caucus (2007–2008) Independent (2008–2008) |
| Spouse | Kelly Wilson |
| Residence(s) | Kelowna,British Columbia, Canada |
| Profession | Accountant |
Blair Wilson (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian politician and formerly themember of Parliament (MP) in the39th Canadian parliament forWest Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country electoral district. He was elected on January 23, 2006, in the2006 federal election as theLiberal candidate. Shortly before the 2008 election was called, Wilson changed his allegiance to theGreen Party of Canada, becoming that party's first MP[2] following a period as an independent although an election was called before the House could sit. He subsequently lost the election to ConservativeJohn Weston.
Wilson is achartered accountant and lives inKelowna. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science from theUniversity of Victoria.[3]
In the 2006 election, Wilson narrowly defeatedJohn Weston, theConservative Party candidate. Weston lost by 1.5%, or 976 votes.
Wilson became involved in politics as the organizer for "The 2010 Rally on Robson" in support of the2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver during the City of Vancouver'splebiscite. He stood for Parliament in the2004 federal election, narrowly losing toJohn Reynolds by 1687 votes in what has long been considered one of the more right-leaning seats in the Vancouver area. At one point, theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation had even declared Wilson the winner. However, when some of the more rural results came in, Reynolds was the winner.
On October 28, 2007,The Province newspaper alleged that Wilson's victory was aided by unlawful, off-the-books cash spending. In December 2007, the Liberal Party announced that Wilson would not be permitted to run under the Liberal Party banner following an investigation (unrelated to the investigation being conducted by Elections Canada) into Wilson's omissions of a number of legal and financial troubles during three nomination vetting processes.[4][5]
Bill Lougheed, Wilson's father-in-law (who is a defendant in a lawsuit in which Wilson's wife is a plaintiff[6]), made several unproven allegations in the October 28, 2007, edition ofThe Province,[7] aVancouver-based newspaper.The Province's article alleged that Wilson and his wife were subject to Social Services Tax Act liens on three properties[7] and owe $2.1 million in bank mortgages,[7] that Wilson misled the media about the true extent of his business success,[7] exaggerating the number of restaurants he founded[7] and claiming to have sold an accountancy business his in-laws claim closed,[7] among other discrepancies, and that when Wilson's two restaurants, Mahoneys and Wilson's Steakhouse, closed, he was taken twice to the BC Employment Standards Tribunal for refusing to pay employees,[7] was sued twice for failing to pay contractors,[7] and was twice compelled by the courts to pay GST owing.[7] None of the allegations was ever proven, and Blair denies all of the claims and commenced legal action against the anonymous tipster who made the campaign spending allegations after an Elections Canada probe found the allegations to be false. Wilson was also taken to court by a supplier over $33,839 that was owed (this amount was later paid).[7]
On October 28, 2007, Wilson resigned from the Liberal Party caucus amid these allegations but retained his seat in the House of Commons as an independent.[8]
On July 21, 2008,Elections Canada cleared Wilson of 21 of the 24 allegations raised byThe Province's investigation.[9] Wilson requested readmittance to the Liberal caucus in July 2008[10] but was not allowed to rejoin the party. It was announced on August 30, 2008, that he had joined the Green Party as that party's first Member of Parliament,[11] although Parliament was dissolved before he could sit as a Green Party MP. He unsuccessfully ran for re-election in the Green Party.
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